NorthernDestinations.com

Thursday June 19th, 2014

Greetings and welcome!

Summer is definitely in full swing. We have had some warm and humid weather, and some pretty regular rains. It looks like a nice weekend ahead too.

Right now the forecast for the short term is of interest. There are a couple of lines of storms coming out of MN that could bring heavy rains tonight and tomorrow. One forecast had an area north and west of here seeing two plus inches of rain.  A recent update had it possibly not getting that far north. Nonetheless, we are probably in for some decent rains.

This spring and summer has been pretty steady with the rain. A long time ago I came up with the idea that about an inch of rain a week was ideal. It kept the rivers fun, the fire danger low, and green things happy. It has been a while since we have kept up with that, and this year we seem to be.

The weekend looks pretty decent once the storm clears out friday afternoon. There will be a slight chance for rain Saturday and a little better chance Sunday.  I don’t see it as an organized storm, more like conditions where a line of showers or storms could come through. The NWS has it at 30% Saturday and Saturday night, and a generic chance wording for Sunday.

I have been seeing fawns in the last few weeks, and the turtles have been up on the sandy roads to lay their eggs. It is starting to look a lot like summer. In fact, Saturday is the first day of summer. Here is an article about it.

I did finally get the boat out for a test run a while back. It was great to be out on Caldron Falls and seeing the sights. We saw turtles, loons, ducks, an eagle, and some pretty inviting fishing spots. Here are a couple of pictures..

The work that the state did at Boat landing #9 turned out pretty nice. There is a good landing with ample parking, a launch dock and a nice fishing dock. They moved the landing back in the bay and put the docks and stuff back there. It is a nice spot with a good landing, a beach, and and no fees.

The mosquito invasion has subsided a little bit. They are still easy to find, but a little better. It has been fairly windy, so they have been the worst in sheltered areas. Bring Repel or Deep Woods Off.

Time to wrap it up. Have a great weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Friday 6-6-14

Greetings and welcome!

Sorry to be so late with the update, it has really been a heck of a week. Even now you get the 10 minute version before I run off again.

Item one.. the gators. The mosquitoes are insane this week. Bring Repel. Looking for Repel/Deep Woods Off or similar products over 25% deet has been a challenge. Wal Mart- out. Dollar store-out, on and on. One store clerk said that they went through 6 cases in 30 minutes last week.

Item two- it is free weekend with the DNR. Not only can you fish without a license, you can enter the state parks and many other DNR managed places that require admission without paying the usual fare.

Item three- The grass needs to be cut. I haven’t had time to bring the mower back to life yet and the grass is out of control. Normal people would have cut 2-3 times by now with all of the rain.

Item four- The whitewater rafting continues to be outstanding. The wet spring and all of the recent rain has the rivers way above normal. The Peshtigo River is running over +12, an exceptional level for this time of year. The median flow on the Pesh is 292 cubic feet per second, and it is running at 886. WOW! The Menominee is also running was above normal. The median for today is 2260, and it is at 3380 at the moment.

Item 5- The green explosion has taken place and the forests are filled out nicely. There is a lot of stuff in bloom too.

Item 6- Deer and turtles.. Twice this week I have come around corners to find a deer laying down in the road. The working theory is that the mosquitoes drove them out of the woods. It is also time for fawns to be born, so that could have something to do with it too.

I have been seeing snapping turtles up on sandy roads this week. That tells me that not only should I be fishing, the water is warming up and it might be time to take a swim. (Look! An albino whale! C’mon everyone, let’s roll him back into the water and save him!) It also tells me that river tubing season is here for folks that aren’t into the whitewater.

Item seven- Events. Here is the copy n paste from my last update..

June 7
Twin Bridge Rescue 3rd Annual Bug Splatter Ride
100 mile motorcycle ride – registration at Lakeside Bar & Grill starting at 10am. Ride leaves at noon. for additional info, call Barb at 715-927-1641.

June 7-8
Free Fun Weekend
Free weekend for recreational activities in the State of Wisconsin. People can fish, hike or bike state trails for free, ride public ATV trails for free, and, new this year, enjoy free admission to state parks and forests on both days as well.

Well, it is time to run off again. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting! Sorry my update was late.

RJB

Thursday May 29th, 2014

Holy Sky Gators Batman!

Greetings and welcome!

I made all of the way until Memorial Day weekend without a skeeter bite, but that has long since turned around. Now we are really thick with the things. Forget the lawyers guns and money, send Repel..

Apparently our very wet spring has brought a bumper crop of the mosquitoes. Hopefully now that it is drying up a little we will get a little bit of a break, but at the moment they are plentiful. There are a few ticks too, pretty normal for late May and early June.

Beyond the pesky bugs, the green explosion is under way. You can walk outside and see some new plant, bush, or flower every day. The underbrush is starting to fill in, as is the forest canopy.

There are quite a few wildflowers this week. The trillium were really thick in the woods last weekend, making it look like a toilet paper bomb went off in the forest.

There were other flowers including cherry trees, the yellow flowers below, and marsh marigolds. There are also smaller blue and white flowers.

I don’t have any events listed for this weekend, but here are a couple from Chris’s calendar for next weekend.

June 7
Twin Bridge Rescue 3rd Annual Bug Splatter Ride
100 mile motorcycle ride – registration at Lakeside Bar & Grill starting at 10am. Ride leaves at noon. for additional info, call Barb at 715-927-1641.

June 7-8
Free Fun Weekend
Free weekend for recreational activities in the State of Wisconsin. People can fish, hike or bike state trails for free, ride public ATV trails for free, and, new this year, enjoy free admission to state parks and forests on both days as well.

I am looking forward to the weekend and getting the fishing boat back into the water. I have been a busy boy the past few summers, and haven’t been getting any lake time in.

Last week I pulled the boat out of the bushes and got started on getting it going. The fuel system got cleaned, and some parts got replaced, the ignition got fixed ( thanks Craig!), the trailer got some attention, and I even have it registered. Today I pulled it down to Lakewood and pressure washed it, and got some fresh no ethanol premium for the can. Only work tomorrow stands in the way of me getting it wet.

Strictly from commercial..

I am behind on my web site work but there are a couple in process. One is Climber’s Anonymous. They are a tree service here in Silver Cliff that specializes in high risk and difficult to remove trees.They climb the trees and rope them down a piece at a time, and they are quite good at it.

I have some great stuff coming up on their web site. There is a video of a huge pine tree that needs to come down, with a golf green sized landing zone. The top comes flying down, goes right for the house, and the ropes swing it right to the perfect spot at the last second. It was an impossible drop masterfully executed.

Anyway, they are the guys to call for that tree hanging over the house or garage. Visit their temporary site at http://climbersanonymous.com or give them a call at 715-929-0166.

I also told John Feaker that I’d give him a spot on the site for his septic business. He is the contractor that did mine back in ’97, and it is still in great shape. He has been at it for a long time and his price was fair too.

One last mention, we have a good deal on trolling motor batteries at Carquest either in Wausaukee or Crivitz. They start at something like $83.

The rafting should be very good this weekend. Both the Peshtigo and Menominee Rivers are well above normal, and either ( or both) will be a great run.

We have some nice weather ahead for the weekend. Right now it looks like Friday and Saturday will be bluebird days in the low 80s. With lows in the 50s, mostly clear skies, and the new moon being yesterday, it should be a great weekend for an evening campfire and taking in some stars. With the sky dark be prepared to see the sky like you just can’t see it closer to town.

Sunday there is a chance of rain. The NWS has it coming in later in the afternoon (after 1pm). The NAM model agrees, the GFS has it possibly coming a little earlier.

Between the new moon bringing prime time on the solunar tables, and the incoming storm for Sunday afternoon, I am looking forward to fishing this weekend. They should be jumping right into the boat with all of that going for us.

On that note I am going to make my exit. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Sunday May 25th, 2014

Greetings and welcome!

The American Legion Post 66 from Silver Cliff and Athelstane picnic is under way as I type this out. Monday they will be having a memorial ceremony at the Athelstane Cemetery at 10am and the Silver Cliff Cemetery at 11am.

The McCaslin Lioness Faire is today in Lakewood. I haven’t seen any additional info on the Crooked Lake auction, not sure if that was today or yesterday.

The trilliums started blooming late this week, and I was seeing quite a few yesterday and this morning. There were a lot of marsh marigolds, cherry tree blooms, and a short blue flower too. The ferns have sent of their first fiddle heads in the past few days. Changes happen fast at this time of year.

I still haven’t had a mosquito bite here in Silver Cliff, but today could be that day. When I was in Crivitz last night they were really thick. We also hit a mayfly hatch on the way home where we hit a few clouds of them on the road.

I am not sure how the meteor shower turned out the other night. I went out about 3am and didn’t see any. It wasn’t a total loss, it was a great starry sky. The meteor shower was caused by the earth passing through the debris path of a comet. It was a recently discovered comet, so it was unknown if it would be a few meteors or thousands.

Yes the Internet is really slow this weekend. There are a lot of people around for the holiday and the cell towers are well challenged to keep up. Maybe the ATT based towers are doing better, but the CDMA towers that I use are really slow. It happens on big weekends, and there are definitely a lot of people around this weekend.

The weather has been really nice if not a little warm. We are looking at another nice day in the low to mid- 80s today and a low of 59 tonight, outstanding for a campfire.

There is a chance of a shower early tomorrow morning that the TV shows could bring a good downpour to a few spots. It is shown as hit and miss for one little line in the morning, but later in the day we are expecting some more substantial showers.

Well it is a beautiful day and I am going to go and jump into it. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB